I Picked Up an Abandoned Villain in the Polar Region

Episode 57

 

Kyle’s belief that Zelda would love him grew stronger day by day.

But strange rumors began to reach his ears.

“Mr. Kyle, have you heard that rumor?”

As he returned from his dawn patrol, his scout, the crow that always followed him around and annoyed him, chattered to him in a slightly more serious voice today.

“What rumor?”

Kyle asked in an irritated voice, as he was up at the crack of dawn and tired.

Of course, the crow had become immune to that irritation and despite his reaction, he continued to speak.

“There’s a rumor that Abel and Zelda were having a forbidden relationship! There’s even talk that they’ve done that and that… thing in the middle of the night!”

When the crow said, “That and that,” he made a motion of touching the tips of his wings together and made a fuss.

But Kyle didn’t react at all even after hearing those words.

At first, he thought the crow’s words were nonsense. This was especially true because crows talk nonsense so much.

Besides, since Abel had a crush on Zelda, it was likely that rumors like that would spread at some point.

So Kyle, who was too tired because of the lack of sleep, answered nonchalantly to the chattering crow.

“That will never happen, so keep your mouth shut.”

In fact, Kyle believed that would never happen.

Actually, he had never been in love with Zelda, nor had he ever felt anything similar towards her.

But still, he believed that Zelda loved him.

The arrogance of thinking that any woman would dream of sitting next to him, and the trust that only Zelda believed in him, made him have such strong faith.

But because it was a belief without roots, he began to feel increasingly strange as time passed.

Rumors were not meant to last long, but the rumors that Zelda and Abel were like that did not die down even after days passed.

Moreover, Zelda, who used to appear in front of him often, disappeared.

Kyle felt an inexplicable sense of unease inside, even though he thought maybe it was embarrassing and difficult for her to come to him because of such rumors.

But one night, when the rumors were rife, Abel came to his room.

Kyle hated Abel visiting unless he called him, so Abel never came to see him unless it was urgent.

Especially at this late hour.

But Abel came to his room knowing these things, and this is what he said:

“I like Zelda.”

“I know.”

Kyle responded to his confession with a bored expression.

The sight of him confessing, like a little boy going through puberty, with a serious face was just funny to Kyle.

Kyle wasn’t offended that his brother liked the woman who was going to be his wife.

Rather, he felt good.

He really liked the fact that the only thing his brother, who had never been greedy for anything in his life, wanted was Zelda, who would become his woman.

Because she was someone he couldn’t take away, like he had taken all of his parents’ attention and love.

It was also a pleasure for him to see his younger brother, who always made him look bad, struggling in front of Zelda.

His unrequited love and heartache were so ridiculous to Kyle.

When Kyle reacted to his brother’s confession with a ‘what do you want me to do?’ face, Abel’s expression hardened as he realized that his feelings had been ignored.

Finally, as if he had made up his mind about something, he opened his mouth again more carefully.

“Zelda feels the same way as I do.”

“Pffft!”

Kyle covered his mouth to block the laughter that burst out without him knowing.

It was a mockery.

He dismissed Abel’s words as nonsense.

He thought that he was so intoxicated by his unrequited love that he even had the delusion that Zelda liked him.

Kyle was so sure about his blind faith that he did not believe Abel’s words and criticized him sharply.

“Hey. Your fantasies only happen in your dreams, right? What are you doing now talking a sleeping person?”

Abel’s face turned red at his insulting reaction.

Kyle crossed his arms and looked at Abel with a mocking expression, then continued speaking in a contemptuous voice.

“You’re saying Zelda feels the same way as you? Get real. She’s not some rookie like you—she’s the kind of woman who belongs by my side. Do you honestly think she’d give up the greatest honor of being the leader’s wife to sit next to someone like you, who has nothing to offer? Know your place.”

The more he heard his insults, the more Abel’s clenched fists trembled.

His face was also gradually hardening. Abel looked straight at his brother and said.

“Zelda doesn’t care about such honor. She knows what’s truly more precious and valuable.”

“You want to believe that. You’re rationalizing it because you’re going to live under me your whole life.”

From Kyle’s perspective, Abel’s words were just dog bark.

All the women of Roden wanted to sit next to their leader, for there was nothing more honorable and valuable to them.

He grumbled at Abel, who was glaring at him with eyes that were growing colder and colder.

“If I were you, I would have given up on Zelda a long time ago. It may sound presumptuous, but do you really want to drag the woman you love down to the place next to you where you have nothing to offer?”

“…”

Abel’s face turned cold as he closed his mouth.

Kyle looked at Abel’s changing face as if he was admiring it and gave him advice.

“You should just continue living your life like you’ve been doing so far, leaving it as mere unrequited love. Stop annoying me so much. It’s your duty to live like a dead mouse without doing anything. Isn’t that right?”

Abel’s jaw clenched as his eyes, staring straight at his brother, became sharp.

Kyle was taken aback when he first saw the murderous look in those eyes.

That was because his younger brother never once went against him, no matter how much he tried to suppress him.

But Kyle soon regained his composure and dismissed it as nothing more than a cat baring its claws and turned away.

But after he took a few steps, he heard Abel’s cold voice behind him.

“I’ve been quiet enough up until now.”

It was a very subdued voice.

“I’ve always been on your side, always supported you. But you only ever thought of yourself. Even though you selfishly trampled on my feelings, I kept enduring it.”

“…”

“But I won’t tolerate it any longer. Even if I tolerate it, my brother will never care about my feelings. So from now on, I will do what I want.”

It was the first warning he had heard. Abel had never said anything like that before.

Kyle’s heart suddenly pounded.

It was as if he had a premonition that something was going to happen, and that something was very bad to him.

But he ignored his words and walked on, trying not to show the anxiety he had just felt.

Without even thinking about the repercussions that his actions of abandoning him like this would cause.

‘But I won’t tolerate it any longer.’

Kyle tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep.

Although he ignored Abel’s words and went to bed, the warning remained in his heart and troubled him.

But what could he do if he couldn’t stand it any longer?

Kyle tried to ignore his brother’s words and got up from his seat.

Then he left the room with the intention of drinking some water to clear his head.

But on the way to the kitchen, he could see the light coming from his father’s study, which should have been dark at this hour.

Kyle unconsciously turned and headed there.

But after coming close enough, he could hear people talking inside.

Kyle stood there, unable to get closer and look inside through the crack in the door.

His father, mother, and Abel were in the room. But there was something strange about Abel’s appearance.

He was kneeling in front of his parents with a serious look on his face, and his parents were looking at him with worried expressions.

It seemed like they were having a pretty serious conversation.

But Kyle couldn’t open the door and go inside, even though it was a family matter.

Growing up, he often saw scenes like this.

A family of three, excluding himself, gathering late at night and having a pleasant time talking about important or trivial things.

That’s usually the time created by the affectionate second child.

Their peace was shattered when Kyle was around. Their father didn’t like him and saw him as a thorn in their side, so every time they met, they fought.

But when those three got together, it was always peaceful and the sound of laughter would be overflowing. It was only that Kyle was never there.

He thought about ignoring it, but there was no way to hide his bitter feelings.

He froze for a moment then tried to avoid looking at that place and went back to his room.

The road to his room seemed so dark today.

The only room in the house with lights on was the room where the family was.

They were all in the warm light, and today he really didn’t feel like going into the room alone, shrouded in cold darkness.

Eventually, Kyle stepped out of the house that brought him such loneliness.

The place his footsteps led him was a lake in the forest where he often visited.

Since he was little, whenever he felt complicated or depressed, he would come there to stop all his thoughts for a moment.

Kyle walked slowly into the water that was reflecting the night sky.

He went deeper and deeper as if he was sinking into the water.

Then he swam to the middle of the lake, lay down on the surface with all his strength gone, and looked up at the night sky.

It was a sky bright with countless stars.

But even in the gaze of those stars, his heart felt empty.

It felt like there was no one by his side. There was only one person, Zelda, whom he trusted, but strangely, there was no warmth in his relationship with her.

Kyle stared up at the night sky for a while, then took a deep breath and went into the water.

To a place where there was no one, where there was no sound.

Where his mind was safe and comfortable, but on the other hand, it was terribly lonely.

He sank endlessly into the depths where no one could reach.

And where he disappeared beneath the water’s surface, only moonlight spread across the water.

Ehem, so some of you may have prayed hard enough, as dear Jc took the ball from Aiysha and sponsored 10 more chapters 😅. Thank you so much Jc for the ko-fi 🤍